Praise for Roos' Beckham

Marco Bresciano had what it took to become Australia's David Beckham, national coach Frank Farina said yesterday as he heaped praise on the midfielder's display in the Socceroos' 1-1 draw with Venezuela in Caracas.

Italian-based Bresciano, along with his former Carlton SC teammate Simon Colosimo, were standouts in a match in which an undermanned Socceroo side had the best chances and was desperately unlucky not to win.

Venezuela, which had lost only one of its past 13 home matches, got out of jail, scoring an equaliser through Juan Arango in the third minute of stoppage time.

Afterwards, an upbeat Farina finally was able to relax after a week in which most of the questions he has faced have been about the players who did not turn up - notably Mark Viduka, but also Harry Kewell, Brett Emerton, Scott Chipperfield, Josip Skoko and John Aloisi.

The only sour note for the Socceroos was the hamstring injury to Birmingham City winger Stan Lazaridis, which will sideline him for two weeks.

But Farina was keen to talk up the performances of the youngsters who came in for the absent stars, particularly Bresciano.

The 24-year-old, who plays for Parma in Italy's tough Serie A, has made a compelling case with his past three outings - against Ireland, Jamaica and Venezuela - to be a regular Socceroo.

An enthusiastic Farina (the first Australian to play in Serie A) said: "I believe Bresciano will go on to be one of the greats. In terms of dead-ball situations, I suppose he is Australia's David Beckham. He's quite a wonderful strike on him, whether it be from corners or set pieces.

"Hopefully I am not putting the mockers on him. He's going to go a long way. He's a great leader and talker and if you see the boy in training and see the way he knocks balls from dead-ball situations . . ."

Asked if the Beckham comparison might put too much pressure on a player with only his 10th cap yesterday, Farina said: "I believe he can handle anything thrown at him. Players set their own standards."

For Colosimo, selection in this squad was a fine achievement considering he still plays in the National Soccer League and has had to cope with more peaks and troughs in his seven years in senior soccer than most players do in a whole career.

To get his chance with the injury to Vince Grella (earmarked as dumped skipper Paul Okon's replacement) was a bonus. But the man who was out of the game for more than a year after suffering a severe knee injury against Manchester United in 1999 took his chance, adding a combative and creative element in the centre.

"It's been a long hard road back," reflected the Parramatta Power midfielder.

Colosimo's career looked to be on the skids two years ago when he was released by Manchester City and struggled in Belgium before returning home to rehabilitate his game first with Perth Glory and then the Power.

"It's good to get a sniff and how can you not enjoy it, playing with guys you have not seen for a while," Colosimo said.

He confessed to pre-match nerves and a feeling that he had to seize what could be his big chance. "Maybe a day before the game. But once it kicked off, it was not a problem."

As a dress rehearsal against a team that could be Australia's opponent in a critical World Cup qualifier in 20 months, the game was a highly valuable exercise.

Australia had looked in control from the 17th minute, when stand-in striker Paul Agostino (playing in the absence of Viduka) slammed home a loose ball in the Venezuelan six-yard box after David Zdrillic's header was parried by Venezuelan keeper Gilberto Angelucci.